A footballer who claimed he fled witchcraft and threats to mutilate him in Sierra Leone is to be deported from the UK after an asylum and immigration tribunal rejected his appeal, his club revealed today. Al Bangura, 19, was described at the hearing as a "very big talent" by his Watford manager, Adrian Boothroyd, who said deportation would be "an absolute disaster" for the teenager.

The tribunal heard that Bangura, who became a father for the first time nine days ago, was trafficked from Sierra Leone at the age of 15 and upon arrival was subject to a sexual attack, before seeking refuge as an unaccompanied minor.

Watford's head of football operations, Iain Moody, said the decision was "a big shock" but remained hopeful that it could be overturned. "We are very sad and disappointed that he has not been granted leave to remain in the UK," he said.

"This is a significant setback for Al and his family but we will continue to fight this case and have full confidence that common sense and justice will prevail and Al will continue his life in this country."

Bangura fled from Freetown, Sierra Leone, after elders, who were members of a secret society which his late father had headed, threatened to kill him because he would not take part in the cult's rituals, which involved mutilation. A French man who found him sleeping rough in Guinea trafficked him to London via Paris in 2004 and took him to a house where Bangura said two men tried to rape him.

He told the hearing that he had undergone therapy for nightmares about people chasing him and trying to "do something bad to me" and he had not contacted his family in Sierra Leone since his arrival in the UK. But Nicholas Jariwalla, cross-examining, accused Bangura of lying about having contact with his family. He also said Bangura offered different accounts of how he arrived in the UK.

In an interview it was claimed he had said he had met an uncle named Eric in Paris but Bangura told the hearing the man was not his uncle and he had lied initially because it was "sad" and "embarrassing" to talk about the attempted rape.

Watford said it was "unlikely" Bangura would be able to obtain a work permit to return to the UK to play because he had never played for Sierra Leone, and the country was ranked outside the top 70 football nations.